Engulfed
by boo.bluebird
Summary: There were kids in there and Steve was determined to get them out.


Engulfed

A/N: It seemed to me that at least a few people would be interested in some Steve whump, so that's what I'm here to do. I think that this one is a little different from other Steve whumps out there. I mean, I'm sure there are a few similar ones somewhere, but I haven't read anything like it yet. I'm thinking that this will be a few chapters and probably will post them all within the next two weeks. Feel free to drop a few comments or something, especially criticism. BTW, this is my first ever multi-chaptered hfo fanficion. (I'm going into AP English next year, and it being my first year of high school, I'm kind of freaking out. So, I would enjoy any help/improvements that I could get.) And now I'm rambling. So, I'll just let you get to it…

The pungent odor of smoke and ash wafted throughout the room. It jerked Steve awake as soon as the smell reached his nose. The first thing that raced through his head was an explosion. He was out in the field, doing some dangerous op. But one glance around the shadowed room told him that that wasn't the case. He was in his room, sleeping. He was safe. Maybe.

He knew quickly that something was going on. There was a lot of commotion coming from somewhere in the near distance, maybe down the street. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand and noted that it was 2 A.M. Unless someone was having a wild party and making all that noise and smell, he figured that there was a fire somewhere. Where, he did not know, but he was determined to find out and make sure that everything was okay. He didn't see or hear the telltale sign of any help; no sirens or lights flashing anywhere. He didn't have time to dwell on the subject, though. He jumped out of bed, pulled a pair of grey Nike shorts over his boxers, and ran out the house. He didn't bother pulling on a shirt, figuring that if someone needed help, they'd need it as soon as possible.

When Steve stepped out into the humid night air, he noticed that the left side of the street was brightly illuminated. Probably because there were three large houses blazing with huge red flames. Great. He sprinted toward the cluster of people standing outside of the homes, some standing in the middle of the street and some on the other side altogether. He wondered where the fire company and ambulances were, it seemed like a pretty important place for them to be.

Steve continued at a quick jog through the hoards of people standing on the street. There was a man he recognized, Kai Kealoha, from a few houses down that he needed to get to. Steve knew that Kai was a pretty responsible guy and would definitely know what was going on.

"Kai," Steve greeted as he reached the man. "What's going on? Is everyone safe?"

"I don't know. I woke up and this," he gestured to the burning houses. "Was going on. I don't know how it happened, but I know that two children are in that middle house. Twins, you know Miley and Cole? We've been waiting for help to come, but no one's showed up," he explained.

"Okay. Call 9-1-1 again. I'm going in to see if I can find those kids. Get everyone to get back, get as far away from the houses as possible. It's dangerous to be this close. Can you do that?"

"Well, yes, but…" Kai's words were cut off by Steve.

"I don't have time, Kai. Just please do it. I'll be back." And with that, Steve was gone. Kai tried calling after him, but it was too late. He ran full speed at the scorched middle house. The heat that was radiating off the house was almost unbearable. It made Steve sweat almost instantaneously. He just ignored the uncomfortable feeling and made his way up the concrete porch stairs.

The wooden front door was being chewed up by the fire, making the entry to the house a little trickier than Steve would've preferred. He _would've _preferred that there was no fire whatsoever and no children trapped inside, but, apparently, he wasn't lucky enough for either of those things. Despite the flames, Steve kicked open the door easily, charred wood splintering and flying inside. For a moment, the flames followed the wood inside, leaving a wide opening where it was safe. Steve leaped in right before flames engulfed the doorway right behind him, as if closing him off from the real world and trapping him inside the burning hell.

The only thing on Steve's mind was finding those kids and getting them out safely and that's what he planned to do. "Miley! Cole!" he called out. He waited a few seconds, but there was no reply. He decided that he shouldn't bother wasting his time calling out their names; he had to go _find _them. The quicker, the better. He started up the stairs, thinking that the kids were probably still in their room because they were most likely sleeping only hours before. He kept his feet on the edges of the stairs, hoping that they wouldn't suddenly crumble under his feet. They were dangerous and probably wouldn't hold up much longer, so that just added to the race against time.

He reached the top of the stairs with no mishaps, and that gave him some hope that maybe something would go right. He ran up to the door closest to him, dodging the raging flames in the process. He quickly pushed open the already cracked door and saw a little girl curled up on her side on the floor. Her small shoulders were shaking with each sob that wracked her body. There were flames starting to close in on her, but she didn't make any signs of moving. She just lay still, seemingly oblivious to the happenings around her.

"Miley, I'm here to help," Steve coughed out. Out of nowhere, coughs wreaked havoc over Steve's body. The black smoke was all that he could suck in and he felt like he was slowly suffocating. Only his training kept him from freaking out. He knew to just take deep, calm breaths in order to be able to breathe better. So, that's what he did. He took in large gulps of the smoke, it burning its way down his throat. He started to gain his composure again and approached the little girl. She was only about five and he felt for her. She was just a scared little kid, but he didn't know how to comfort her. Steve really didn't like kids all that much. Except for, of course, little Gracie. But that was about it.

He gently picked up the girl and held her close to his sweaty chest.

"Miley, I need you to put your shirt over your nose and mouth, okay? Like this." Steve tugged at her tiny pj top's collar and pulled it smugly over her nose and mouth. He was kind of wishing he had a shirt at that point.

Big, watery blue eyes stared up at him and he couldn't help but melt a little inside. The heat and fire was already accomplishing just that, but the girl quickened the process. Even if he didn't particularly like kids, that didn't mean he wanted to see them crying. He wasn't a mean guy that liked to watch kids be miserable.

He raced out of the girl's room in search of Cole's room. He opened a few of the doors to find nothing but burning furniture and walls. That certainly was not what he was looking for. After about a minute with no sign of the boy, Steve decided that he'd just have to bring Miley outside before he found Cole. Miley was starting to have a coughing fit and he knew that it would be best to get her out as quickly as possible.

He carried her down the stairs, once again carefully avoiding any unreliable looking ones, and got to the door generally unscathed. The girl's hair was scorched at the tips, her face was grimy and soot covered, and she was coughing quite a bit, but other than that she seemed okay. Her skin was not burnt and that was always a good sign. Steve, on the other hand, wasn't faring quite as well. Sure, he was still pretty much okay, but he knew that he was getting himself into some trouble. His feet were raw and burning and he just wished he would've gotten shoes and a shirt on his way out of his house. He knew without looking that his right leg was definitely burned, it hurt pretty damn bad. Also, his lungs felt like they were ready to protrude from his chest at any moment. They felt like they were so full of ash and dust that they were weighing him down almost. He could almost feel the little oxygen that he could pull in seep back out immediately. And he knew that he wasn't faring too well. Despite that fact that he felt like he could drop to the ground right then and there, he burst through the flames that were licking at the doorway fast enough that they couldn't do much harm. He plopped the kid on the ground.

"I need to go get Cole," he told her. He coughed a few times. "Go try to find your mother," he instructed. He coughed a few more times. "They're over there somewhere." He pointed at the growing group of people standing across the street. He coughed a lot and tried gulping for air. "Run," he managed, and she did. She ran faster than Steve had seen any five year old run before. He watched her leave for a few seconds and once he was satisfied that she was safe, he ran back into the house. There was still one room upstairs that he hadn't checked yet, so that was where he was headed.

He climbed the stairs, once again on the edges, and made his way to the door that remained unopened. By that time, the flames were everywhere. There was barely a place that Steve could step without burning his feet harshly. The coughing was getting progressively worse, too. It was pretty much unbearable at that point. He could hardly breathe and his vision was slowly beginning to gray. He still had a mission at hand, though, so there was no giving up and succumbing to the darkness just yet. He needed to find that damned kid.

Steve managed to get to the door and open it by some small miracle. The first thing that greeted him was a full bathtub with a kid in it. He was fully clothed, only his nose and lips emerged from the water. And all that Steve could think was, "_What the hell?" _He crouched next to the bathtub and stuck his hand in the cold water. He slipped his hand under the boy's back and pulled him up from the water.

"What are you doing?" was the first thing he asked. Heknew that there were more important things to be asking like "Are you okay?" or something like that, but he was just too damn curious.

"Hiding from the fire," Cole replied as if it should've been obvious. Steve had to stifle a chuckle. He had to give it to the kid, that was a good hiding place, but that didn't make it any less funny.

Steve went to reply, but only coughing came out of his mouth. He decided against saying anything because, at that point, he really didn't care about anything other than getting out of that smoke infested house. He swept the kid into his arms and just ran. He ignored the way that the flames ate away at the skin or the way that his lungs felt like they were closing for the season. He just ran, trying to get the kid out before he freaking collapsed and died right on the spot. But through his blurred vision, he forgot about the deadly steps and the way that they could easily collapse under his weight. So, he ran down the stairs as quickly as possible, feet barely touching the crumbling wood. Then, at the 3rd to last step, Steve's foot smashed right through, making his right leg submerge under the stairs to right under his knee. Somehow, Steve managed to keep a tight grip on the dripping boy.

"You alright?" Steve asked the boy.

"Yeah. Can we go?"

As hard as Steve tried, he could not get his leg out. He was too weak at that moment. He struggled for about thirty seconds then gave up.

"Listen, you need to… get outside. Just… run as fast… as you can. Get out the door," Steve choked out in between gulps of air. "Everyone's across… the street. Run."

Steve was thankful when Cole just gave him an uncertain look, but followed orders anyway. Steve wasn't sure if he had the energy to argue with the kid anyway. As the kid was running out the fire-filled door, firemen were entering. Steve was conscious long enough to see one of the men pick up Cole and carry him outside. After that, darkness enveloped him and he remembered no more.

A/N: So, how was it? I'm hoping that maybe someone enjoyed it… I would be grateful if you left a comment, but just reading it is satisfying enough for me, too. On a different note, would anyone want to beta for me? I feel like having some input on the story might do me some good. Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll see you next chapter.


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